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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · rock · bear · field · bulb · pound · bark · cold

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bark — to shout
  11. field — farmland
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. field — a subject
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. field — for sport
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. rock — music
  21. bear — the animal
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rock — a stone
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com